


a cat collecting game

by sandpapersnowman



Series: mysterious chris/dave au [2]
Category: Kick-Ass (2010)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Crushes, M/M, Neko Atsume - Freeform, Pre-Relationship, Teen Crush, Texting, baby gays
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-01
Updated: 2018-05-27
Packaged: 2019-04-30 23:10:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,573
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14507508
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sandpapersnowman/pseuds/sandpapersnowman
Summary: Before Chris has even said hello to him, Dave is pulling out his phone to show him the 'super fun game' he found last night.(Dave tries to get Chris into Neko Atsume. Chris might like it more than he normally would, just becauseDaveshowed it to him.)





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [sanguiniel](https://archiveofourown.org/users/sanguiniel/gifts).



> title from [the neko atsume wikipedia page](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neko_Atsume) because i spent more than an hour trying to find a lyric title and Could Not
> 
> i had to re-fill every one of these damn boxes Twice because ao3 timed out Twice and im Screaming but thats okay

He doesn't get why Dave is so excited about it.

It's just... Cats? In a yard.

"It's _Neko Atsume_ ," Dave insists, like that makes it something besides _cartoon cats in an app_. "You put out food and toys for them and, like, some only like certain foods and toys."

Chris waits for the rest of the explanation on why it's fun, but that seems to be it.

"And?" he asks.

"'And' nothing," Dave laughs. "It's fun. Download it, fucker."

Chris sighs and opens the app store. Maybe he'll get lucky and it's one of those games that's only on Android. He's avoided more than one game Dave has 'suggested' (read: forced upon him) just because Chris is on iPhone.

"That one!"

Shit. Or not. Maybe he won't have enough space? He can say he'll clear out photos after school, and then 'forget', and by the time he sees Dave in English again Dave will have _actually_ forgotten, and he won't --

"There."

Or Dave will reach into his hands and hit 'download' for him.

Chris gives him an overdramatic sigh, but doesn't stop the download.

"I'll play it after school," he promises, pocketing his phone again. They have, like, ten minutes left for lunch, and neither of them has touched their food because Dave's being Dave.

"You better," Dave says, and finally bites into the sandwich Chris brought him.

(It's hard to get cafeteria lunch and go eat it in the stairwell they've started hanging out in. It's not weird _or_ gay if Chris starts making them both lunch in the morning and passes him a sandwich when they sit on the bottom step. Besides, Dave brings them both sodas, so it's totally even.)

"God," Dave groans, around a mouthful of bread, meat, and cheese. "Have I mentioned I love you?"

Chris scoffs and digs into his own sandwich.

Hopefully it's good enough Dave won't notice the red in his cheeks.

He _will_ try out the app after school, to be fair. He sees it pop up as done when he checks his phone while he's waiting for his ride home, and texts Dave that he'll check it out in a minute.

Dave texts back right before he gets home.

From: Dave :)  
_this is lowkey spoilers for later-game cats, but i already know whiteshadow is gonna be your favorite!!!_

Spoilers. For an app where you look at fake cats. And what kind of name is _Whiteshadow_ , anyway?

Sent to: Dave :)  
_Whiteshadow? That sounds like furry shit._

From: Dave :)  
_lol yeah it does doesnt it? its not furry shit though. just open it!!!_

It _absolutely_ sounds like furry shit, but if it is, that'll just give Chris something to make fun of Dave about.

The icon is just a white cat, with the border and its paw positioned so it looks like it's coming out of the app.

_Cute_ , he thinks, sarcastically, but taps on it anyway.

There's a short guide that explains pretty much the same thing Dave had told him; there's cats, you put out food for them, and sometimes when you open the app you'll see a new one. Wow.

He begrudgingly participates in the tutorial and closes the app, waits a second, and reopens it. Sure enough: there's a cat. _Wow_.

Sent to: Dave :)  
_First cat. Am I thrilled yet?_

From: Dave :)  
_idk, are you!!!_

There's not much he can do, really. It's just playing with a ball of yarn, one of the starter cat attractors. It brings up a surprisingly detailed bio for the cat when he taps on it -- at least, surprising to _him_ , because he thought this was more of a novelty app than something with effort really put into it. Personality, 'Power Level', whatever that means, number of visits, and a couple spots that will obviously unlock something once it... Visits more, maybe? That sounds right.

Sent to: Dave :)  
_What's with the 'power level' thing? Do they fight?_

From: Dave :)  
_shut up they dont fight!!! i dont know actually? i think its supposed to be like how rare it is. like rarer cats have higher power levels :3_

Sent to: Dave :)  
_Please never send me the cat face again_

From: Dave :)  
_:3c_

Sent to: Dave :)  
_Oh my God_

He returns to the app. The same cat is still there.

He sighs to himself internally. He may as well take its picture, right? Since it's here?

He opens the menu and selects the camera, frames it up, and confirms the picture.

It's cute. He won't say it's _not_ cute, because it is -- the little cat is animated, which he didn't notice when Dave had shown him his game, everything looks pleasantly round and polished, and he hates to admit it, but he's smiled just a little both times the 'Meow Loading' screen had opened.

Sent to: Dave :)  
_It's cute. It's not really my kind of thing, but I can see why you like it_

From: Dave :)  
_aw :( what if i sent you a picture of whiteshadow. if you think he's cute will you keep playing it?_

It takes a second to remember Whiteshadow is the name of one of the cats. How many are in the game, anyway?

Sent to: Dave :)  
_You can try, but I'm not making any promises._

Dave :) sent a photo

It's a cropped photo, and kind of shitty quality -- Dave probably doesn't have that cat yet and had to Google it.

It's... A ninja. It's a white cat wearing some ninja-looking get-up, with puffy sleeves and a face mask and a little _pose_. It has a tiny fucking cat katana strapped to its back.

Sent to: Dave :)  
_Holy shit_

From: Dave :)  
_> :3c_

Sent to: Dave :)  
_God, I'm gonna kill you tomorrow. The cat is pretty great though_

From: Dave :)  
_right!!! he has a SWORD_

Chris smiles to himself -- it's fun that they've got similar enough tastes that they both specifically noticed the sword. It's cute -- the cat is cute, not both of them thinking it's _cute_.

He spends a little more time on the game. Dave texts him tips and tells him not to have too many beds or toys out at once because it skews the cat diversity, the free food is fine for now but once he's consistently getting fish he should buy the first thing on the food page, that stuff.

After an hour of switching between his messages and Neko Atsume, he has a full yard for the first time.

Sent to: Dave :)  
_Full house_

He sends a screenshot of his yard. He's kind of proud of himself, in a weird way; he'll probably leave the app on his phone and check it once in a while until he needs the space, but Dave seems so _genuinely happy_ that Chris took the time to check it out that he'll never be able to avoid trying a game for him again.

... _Ugh_ , he's gross. Whatever.

From: Dave :)  
_!!! are you having fun?_

Sent to: Dave :)  
_Yeah, kinda. I probably won't play it as religiously as you but I'm gonna keep it on my phone_

It feels silly to keep it just because Dave likes talking about it, but it's not like the game sucks or something. It'll give him something to open and pretend to be busy with when he's around anyone but Dave at school, anyway, and they'll probably both check it at lunch and compare cats and stuff.

From: Dave :)  
_:3 <3_

Chris goes red again. It's worse without Dave there, actually, because he doesn't need to just laugh it off or change the subject; he can just sit there, consumed by a stupid high school crush that's probably going to fuck up a real, good friendship eventually, and stare at 'from Dave' combined with a stupid heart emoticon.

Sent to: Dave :)  
_I'm poisoning your food tomorrow._

From: Dave :)  
_D:_


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chris has his first encounter with Tubbs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really didn't mean for this to have another chapter but hey why not! god knows I've personally been sucked back into neko atsume

Sent to: Dave :3  
 _Holy shit there's a huge white cat in my yard_

Sent to: Dave :3  
 _Did you fucking change your name in my phone to have the cat face_

From: Dave :3  
 _maybe... :3 also if the cat is like laying on his back don't replace the food, he'll leave!!! you have to let him finish it_

Sent to: Dave :3  
 _He left when I put down new food for him :/_

Sent to: Dave :3  
 _Damn_

From: Dave :3  
 _thats tubbs! if you let him finish his food at his own pace he leaves a ton of stuff_

Sent to: Dave :3  
 _Really? Because just now he tipped like shit_

From: Dave :3  
 _lol yeah because you messed with his food!!!_

Sent to: Dave :)  
 _By the way, I'm changing your name back_

From: Dave :)  
 _did you put the smiley face back or did you just take it off? :(_

Sent to: Dave :)  
 _...I put the smiley face back. Why?_

From: Dave :)  
 _good!!!_

From: Dave :)  
 _i want to be a smiley person in your phone_

Chris stares at the last message.

What does that even _mean_? Is it that important to Dave that his name has a smiley face? Is it about the smiley face, or about how Dave wants Chris to see him?

He sighs to himself.

It was probably a _joke_ , not some veiled hint that Dave feels the same way.

He closes his messages and returns to Neko Atsume. A black and orange tortie sits on a flattened cardboard box, looking smug. Chris sighs and gets a picture of him.

At least Bandit's intentions are obvious.

**Author's Note:**

> i am trying so hard to write with these two more because i love them so much and havent published Shit about it :(
> 
> my main tumblr is [here](https://www.sandpapersnowman.tumblr.com) and my kick-ass only, analysis/liveblog/shitpost blog is [here](https://www.chris-d-amico.tumblr.com) lmao


End file.
